Shelf for refrigerator cabinets



Oct. 28, 1947. -n55, \JR 2,429,709

SHELF FOR REFRIGERATOR CABINETS Filed April 27, 1945 I I I l 1 I r I 1/Z5 l 23 j /7/ 23 IN V EN TOR.

Patented Oct. 28, 1947 2,429,709 SHELF FOR REFRIGERATOR CABINETS GeorgeE. Curtiss, Jr., Penn Wynne, Pa., assignor, by mesne assignments, toPhilco Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of PennsylvanlaApplication April 27, 1945, Serial No. 590,678

3 Claims.

This invention relates to refrigerator construction and, moreparticularly, is concerned with shelving adapted for use with domesticrefrigerators.

Still more particularly, the present invention has to do with new anduseful improvements in shelf or partition structure for domesticrefrigerators of the type provided with two food storage compartments,adapted to be cooled and respectively maintained at different conditionsof temperature and humidity.

With relation to the invention, it should be borne in mind that it hasproven desirable, in domestic refrigerators, to provide not only afreezing compartment, but also a so-called, moistcold compartmentmaintained at a relative humidity value sufliciently high to properlypreserve foodstufis, such as fresh fruits, vegetables, or the like,without dehydration. Such cones or compartments, may conveniently beprovided by dividing the space defined by the inner liner into upper andlower food storage compartments, by means of a'horizontal partition orshelf. One of these two compartments is usually refrigerated by anevaporator which is maintained at a temperature well below 32 F., forlower temperature freezing and storage purposes, while the othercompartment is maintained at a temperature above 32 F., (for example inthe-neighborhood of 38 to 40 F.) to provide the afore-mentioned highhumidity zone.

The partition or shelf which subdivides the cabinet interior into saidupper and lower compartments, has commonly been substantiallyimperforate, so as to prevent the circulation of air between the twocompartments and consequent interference with the temperature andhumidity conditions respectively maintained in each compartment.However, in such two-compartment refrigerators, it has proven difficultto insure the desired degree of humidity within the moist-cold spacethroughout the various seasons of the year, while still preventing thehumidity from reaching undesirably high values at certain times. As iswell known, excessive humidity may result in undesirable condensation ofmoisture upon the walls of the compartment and in deterioration of thefoodstuffs stored therein, and it is desirable in order to prevent suchexcessive humidity, to. provide for some controlled, limited aircirculation between the two zones. On the other hand, when the moisturecontent of the warmer compartment does not tend to become excessive, thetwo compartments should be isolated from one another. Accordingly, andwith the foregoing in mind,

the primary object of the present invention is to provide, in arefrigerator of the type set forth, a partition or shelf member which,while normally serving to isolate the two zones, is of a nature toprovide for communication and circulation therebetween, as and whendesired.

A further object of the present invention resides in the provision ofsuch a partition structure in which any desired degree of communicationmay be maintained without interfering with the usefulness of thepartition as an article-supporting shelf structure.

The invention also has in mind the accomplishment of the afore-mentionedgeneral ends, by the provision of a partition structure which may bereadily adjusted, is not space-consuming, is inexpensive and ofunusually good appearance.

These and other objects of the invention, together with features anddetails of the construction thereof, are hereinafter fully described andshown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a refrigerator embodying thepresent invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary View in perspective, illustratingthe partition disassociated from the refrigerator, certain portionsbeing shown in section to facilitate illustration; and

Figure 3 is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken along the line3-3 of Figure 2.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the embodimentillustrated includes a domestic refrigerator having an outer shell 2 andan inner shell or liner member 3, spaced inwardly and insulated from theouter shell 2, by means of insulation (not shown) and the usual thermalbreaker strip 4. It will be understood that the refrigerator alsoincludes a compartment housing a condensing unit of any desired type,but illustration of these portions of the apparatus has been omittedsince the present invention is not concerned therewith.

As clearly appears in Figure 1, the space within the inner liner 3 issubdivided into an upper food storage compartment 5 and a lower foodstorage compartment 6, by means of the horizontally disposed,substantially imperforate partition member I, constructed in accordancewith the present invention. As mentioned above this partition alsoserves as a shelf, as will be readily apparent from the drawing. Thefront access opening to the refrigerator is provided with a hinged door8 carrying about its inner peripheral surface the usual resilient gasket9, adapted to seal the compartment by seating against the cabinet in theplane of the breaker strip structure 4.. The door is further providedwith a horizontal gasket portion l disposed at the level of thehorizontal partition 1 and adapted, when the door is closed, to engageand seal against the forward edge of said partition, to thus prevent thepassage of air between the compartments 5 and 5, past said forward,,edge. vFurther construction, and arrange mentofjithe doorfand itsggaskets may be conventional in nature.

Insofar as the present invention is concerned, either the upper zone 5or the lower space 6 may be utilized as the coldertemperaturecompartment, and there is illustrated an arrangement in which the uppercompartment 5 constitutes said colder zone. while the lower-space 5corresponds to that compartment which is to be maintained at relativelyhigh temperature and humidity. Further, it will be appreciatedgthat anyconvenient form of refrigerator circuits may be employed, and that theinvention is 'not concerned with the nature of the specific systemutilized. However, for the purpose of illustration, the upper, coolercompartment is shown as refrigerated by a main low temperatureevaporator II which, in this case. is located within the storage space.The moist-cold compartment, on the 2 and 3, since the structure alongthe rear edge of the partition is the same as that of the forwardportion. Although a part of the forward edge of rod H has been brokenaway to facilitate illustration, it will be understood, and reference toFigure 3 will illustrate, that the frame It extends completely acrossthe forward partition edge. The central section of the adjustablepartition further includes a relatively wide cover member 18, preferablyformed of a thin sheet of metal, the central portion of which cover isfixed to the central" frame rod IT, in the region defined other hand, isillustrated as beingcooled by the evaporator portion [2 of a suitablesecondary refrigerating system, said .evaporator portion being shownassecured in convoluted arrangement upon the lower surface of ashelf l3.The evaporator l2 may be convoluted about the lower portion of the innerliner, if such be desired.

The secondary evaporator l2 forms a portion of a,closed refrigerantcircuit, of which a condenser portion (not shown) is arranged in heatexchange relation with the primary evaporator II, in accordance withwell-known practice. As mentioned hereinabove, the secondary evaporatorI2 i maintained at a temperature somewhat above 32' F., in order. toeffectively prevent the frosting-out of the moisture desired in themoistcold space. I

It will be observed that the partition 1 comprises a relatively heavyperipheral frame member I4 extending completely about the partitionstructure, as best appears in Figure 1, and defining a closed area.Provision is made to support the partition within the refrigerator and,although this may be accomplished in' a number of convenient ways, inthe embodiment illustrated achannel member l5 having a generallyc-shaped cross-sectional configuration is secured to the side and rearwalls of the inner liner 3. A clearly appears in Figure 2, the partitionmain frame member is slidingly received within the channel l5 and may bereadily removed, for example, when cleaning is required.-

In particular accordance with the present invention, the partition 1further includes two imperforate sheets 15a and lib which are preferablyof glass and are'mounted in a manner providing for.positional adjustmentthereof with respect to the side portions of the main frame l4, adjacentthe walls of the inner liner, as will now be described. I

Making particular reference to Figures 2 and 3, it will be seen thatthepartition is divided, in the generally central portion thereof, bymeans of a frame member I! extending from the front to the rear portionof the partition or shelf and edge of the'frame H.115 illustrated inFigures by the depressed area l9. The opposite lateral edge of thiscover are provided with rolled flanges 20, to improve the appearance ofthe partition and to provide a reinforced plane surface bearing againstthe upper side of the subjacent glass sheets I5a and lBb. Thisconstruction has been found to provide the necessary seal, preventingleakage of air as between the upper and lower compartments, as well aspreventing entrance of dirt and moisture beneath the cover member l 8.

At its forward and rear edges, the finish cover member I8 is providedwith a downwardly turned flange portion 2|, the forward one of whichappears in the drawings. This flange has a rearwardly projecting ledge22, which, as appears in Figure 3, preferably extends the full width of.the down-turned flange 2| and either bears tightly against or issecured to the under-surface of the adjacent portion of frame member [4,in order to promote the strength and rigidity of the shelf structure.

A pair of offset flange members supports each of the sheets I51: andI6b, the forward one of which, with respect to glas sheet Ilia, is shownat 23 in Figure 2. The surface 24 of said flange is secured in anydesired manner to the underside of the main frame l4, while its surface25 provides the actual support for the forward edge of sheet 15a, saidsurface 25 being raised sufllciently, with respect to the flange portion24, to insure proper alignment between the upper surface of the framemember I4 and the sheet Ilia which, as shown, is preferably of thinnermaterial than that material of which the frame I4 is formed. Althoughonly the forward flange members 23 are illustrated, it should beunderstood that similar provision is made to support the rear edges ofthe sheets Mia and l5b.

As illustrated, the sheet IBa has been adjusted inwardly with respect tothe cover member l8, thereby exposing a considerable gap (shown at Q 26)between the righthand edge portion of the glass sheet and the rightlateral extension of the frame member ll adjacent the liner. Thisposition of the sheet l6a corresponds to the adjustment of said sheetwhen communication is desired between the relatively cold and themoistcold compartments, that is, when the humidity in the lowercompartment tends to approach an excessively high value. An interchangeof moisture will occur between the two compartments when the sheet is sopositioned, and moisture will become frozen-out upon the cold surfacespresented within the compartment 5. When the humidity within themoist-cold compartment no longer closely approaches a desirable upperlimit, the sheet l5a may be repositioned to lessen or eliminate the gap25, the particular adjustment depending upon the condition desiredwithin the I compartment 5.

Sheet l6b may be similarly adjusted along the opposite partition edge;how-l ever, detailed illustration and description need not be repeatedherein. I

The extension of the cover member to either side of the central framerod I1 is such as to permit considerable variation in the gap 26,without permitting the inner edge of the glass plate to be withdrawnfrom beneath said cover member [8. This feature is illustrated in Figure3, in which fi e it will be observed that the inner edge of the sheetl6a more closely approaches the center frame rod l1, than does the sheetl6b.

Although such a differential adjustment of the sheets [6a and [6b may bedesirable under certain conditions, a gap may also be left between theoutside edges of both sheets and the adjacent portions of frame M.

It will be noted that the partition is so constructed that adjustmentmovements of the glass sheets result in creating or regulating gapswhich are spaced apart a substantial distance. Such an arrangement is ofimportance, in that advantage may be taken of the normal circulatoryairflow existing within the refrigerator, with the result comprisingframing, a pair of imperiorate sheets carried by saidframing inside-by-side substantially co-planar relation and being horizontallyslidable to define an imperforate shelf surface of adjustable width, theinner adjacent edges of said sheets being spaced-when the width of theimperforate shelf surface is a maximum-to accommodate inward movementsof said sheets and consequent reduction of the width of the imperforateshelf surface, and a cover member concealing and closely overlying saidinner adjacent edges to prevent the passage of air through the spacebetween said inner edges, said cover member extending across said inneredges and over-said sheets a distance suflicient to prevent exposure ofsaid edges during desired adjustment movements of said sheets.

3. A partition for refrigerators and the like, comprising a rectangularperipheral frame, a pair of rectangular imperforate sheets carried bysaid frame in side-by-side substantially coplanar relation, adjacentedges of said sheets being spaced and the sheets being slidable towardthat the required degree of moisture equalization will occur morerapidly.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the inventionprovides an attractive parti tion construction which is susceptible of arelatively wide range of adjustments to meet particular operatingconditions and, further, which is of such a nature as to be effective asa shelf surface, in any selected position of adjustment.

Further, the elimination of special dampers or shutters effects aconsiderable reduction in cost, and substantially reduces assemblyproblems.

I claim:

1. In a partition for refrigerators and the like. a pair of imperforatesheets arranged in sideby-side substantially co-planar relation andbeing horizontally slidable to define an imperforate shelf surface ofadjustable width, the inner adjacent edges of said sheets beingspaced-when the shelf is so adjusted as to have its maximum width-toaccommodate inward movement of said sheets and consequent reduction ofthe width of the imperforate shelf, and means preventing the passage ofair through the space between said inner edges in any position of shelfadjustment.-v

2. A partition for refrigerators and the like GEORGE E. C'URTISS, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent: 1 1

UNITED STATES PATENTS Date Number Name 2,032,235 Thomas Feb. 25', 19362,095,130 Gates Oct. 5, 1937 2,292,015 Schweller Aug. 4, 1942 2,304,465Maniscalco Dec-18, 1942 2,310,872 Rundell -1 Feb. 9, 1943

